Al Snow
| birth_place = Lima, Ohio | death_date = | death_place = | resides = Louisville, Kentucky | billed = | trainer = Gene Anderson Jim Lancaster | debut = May 22, 1984 | retired = }} Allen Ray Sarven (July 18, 1963), is a semi-retired American professional wrestler better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. Snow is currently wrestling on the independent circuit. Career history World Wrestling Federation (1990s) In the mid-1990s, following a notable run in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Sarven began working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) when he signed a contract in August 1995. Sarven wrestled under numerous gimmicks in the WWF, such as Avatar (a superhero gimmick with Sarven putting on his mask right before starting a match) and Shinobi (a generic Ninja-style gimmick). He also competed in and lost a match against Marty Jannetty under the name Steve Moore. Sarven received his first mainstream exposure with the WWF as Leif Cassidy, the heel tag team partner of Marty Jannetty. The duo was promoted as "The New Rockers", a throwback to the original Rockers of Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty. Eventually, the storyline was dropped, and Sarven was reduced to jobbing for mid-carders. In the late 1990s, WWF and ECW began to cross-promote their organizations to counteract the success of WCW; Sarven was one of the wrestlers sent to ECW. Extreme Championship Wrestling (late 1990s) Within this new environment, Sarven found success as the character Al Snow. In this role, Sarven received a lot of fan and management support for his J.O.B. Squad storyline, which promoted him as being angry with and driven mad by his years as a jobber for the WWF. He would come to the ring with a mannequin head that he talked to as if it were a real person, which prompted ECW crowds to chant "We want head", an intentional double entendre. ECW promoters handed out styrofoam mannequin heads at wrestling shows, and audience members started waving them and shouting, "Head! Head! Head!" in time to his entrance music. The entire audience would then throw the heads into the ring before the match started. Once in his ECW career, he wrestled for the ECW Heavyweight title, losing to Shane Douglas at Wrestlepalooza 1998. World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment 1998-2000 Just two days before he was booked to win the ECW Heavyweight Championship, Sarven was recalled to the WWF, where he continued his gimmick of talking to "Head," creating some of the more memorable humorous skits of the "Attitude Era." He was a face during this period. Snow received some mainstream publicity in 1999 when Wal-Mart pulled his action figure from their shelves after Sabrena Parton, a professor at Kennesaw State University, complained that "Head" was a "decapitated woman's head" that sent an inappropriate message about violence towards women. Parton was quoted as saying "My sons are 6 and 11. What kind of message would this toy send them about brutalization of women?" Snow used the story as part of an angle in which the controversy caused him to suffer from depression. In one skit, Snow called his mother (kayfabe), observing that the stores wouldn't sell his action figures, but would sell shotguns and ammunition. This led Snow to dump Head and his ECW persona, eventually overhauling his gimmick but not before an infamous feud and match with the Big Bossman during the autumn of 1999. In early 2000, he began to team with Steve Blackman as an "odd couple" tag team called Head Cheese (so called because of Snow's attempt to get Blackman, a Wisconsin native, to wear a Green Bay Packers "Cheese" hat). Later Snow would side with real life friend Mick Foley, but turned heel by betraying him due to Foley joking about him in his autobiography, Have A Nice Day. He would later turn face again due to fan reaction. Snow was often the butt of Mick Foley's jokes during Foley's tenure as WWF Commissioner in 2000. However, they are close friends in real life. Foley continued to use Snow as the butt of many jokes in his second book, Foley Is Good: And the Real World Is Faker than Wrestling. Also in 2000, he won the European Championship from Perry Saturn. He would then start to enter the ring to certain European countries' native music and wearing attire which would suit the stereotype of that country. Before long, he lost the title to William Regal. 2002-2007 He was drafted to SmackDown! as part of the 2002 brand extension, where he teamed up with former student Maven. After taking time off again for another season of Tough Enough, Snow returned as a member of the RAW roster and eventually became a commentator for Sunday Night Heat alongside Jonathan Coachman. When the Coach sided with Eric Bischoff, Snow followed suit, turning heel. The two feuded with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, and briefly replaced them at the RAW announce table. When Tough Enough IV came to SmackDown!, Snow was on the scene and turned face once again. Prior to returning to WWE's active roster, Snow was pinned by MWF Heavyweight Champion "Sudden Impact" Dylan Kage of Paul Bearer's Trifecta at MWF Fireworks On The 4th. In 2006, Snow returned to wrestling full-time as a member of the new ECW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment. His first appearance in the new brand was in the WWE vs ECW battle royal at the "WWE vs. ECW Head to Head" special, where he was accompanied by Head. He was eliminated from the match. On the June 13 2006 debut of ECW on Sci-Fi, Snow participated in an Extreme Battle Royal, which was won by Sabu. Over the next six months, he was used sporadically, mostly as a jobber, losing to people such as Test and Kevin Thorn. On January 18 2007, Snow was released from his wrestling contract with WWE, along with several other superstars. However, he remained with the company as a trainer at OVW. He resides in the Louisville Kentucky area with his girlfriend pro wrestler Cynthia Lynch. On the February 3 2007 OVW TV tapings, Al Snow was named the new OVW Troubleshooter by Danny Davis in response to Danny Basham's WWE release. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2008, 2010-2017) In the lead-up to the December 7, 2008, TNA show Final Resolution, Mick Foley assigned himself as the special guest enforcer for the match between Kurt Angle and Rhino. Angle said he had hired "another former World Champion" and someone who had co-held a world tag team title with Foley. This person would debut during Angle's match to "take care of Foley". And on the night in question, Al Snow revealed himself to be the mystery ally of Angle, who interrupted the match by slapping Foley. The distraction allowed Angle to beat Rhino. In March 2010, Sarven received a tryout as an agent for TNA Wrestling. He made his return to television on the July 15, 2010, edition of Impact!, aligning himself with fellow ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Brother Devon, Pat Kenney and Mick Foley in their invitation by Dixie Carter to TNA. The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand, as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company. At the event Snow was defeated by Rhino in a three-way match, which also included Brother Runt. Since then, he has appeared onscreen in his real-life role as company agent on multiple occasions, often alongside fellow agents Ace "D'Lo Brown" Conner and Pat Kenney. Sarven currently holds the title of producer for the company. In spring 2011, Snow returned to OVW, dividing his time between his TNA duties and work as a show producer for OVW. In November of that year, OVW became TNA's official developmental territory. In May 2012, Snow began appearing as a judge in the monthly Gut Check segment on Impact Wrestling. The following July, Snow started a storyline rivalry with Joey Ryan, who had been denied a spot on the TNA roster, following his appearance on TNA Gut Check. After Snow tricked Ryan into signing a contract for a match, the two met on October 14 at Bound for Glory, where Snow wrestled only his second match for TNA, losing to Ryan, following interference from Matt Morgan. On January 12, 2013, Snow took part in Joker's Wild on May 3, teaming with recent rival Joey Ryan, in a loss against Matt Morgan and Robbie T. On the August 7, 2014 edition of Impact Wrestling, Snow returned to team with Team 3D (Bully Ray and Devon) and Tommy Dreamer against EC3, Rhino, Big Rycklon and Gene Snitsky in an eight-man Hardcore War in a winning effort. Wrestling facts *'Finishing moves' **''Snow Plow'' (Scoop brainbuster) **Moonsault *'Signature Moves' **Arm wrench inside cradle **DDT **Diving leg drop **Dragon sleeper **Sitout inverted suplex slam **''Snow Bomb'' (Sitout side slam spinebuster) **''Snow-Plex'' (Wheelbarrow suplex) **Springboard moonsault **Running clothesline **Spinning heel kick **Superkick **Trapping headbutts *'Nicknames' **"Simply Sensational" **"The Clown Prince of Hardcore" **"The Snowman" **"Five Star Ninja" **"Coach" *'Tag teams and stables' **'Al Snow' & Unabomb **Camp Cornette **Head Cheese - with Steve Blackman **JOB Squad **Motor City Hitmen - with Mickey Doyle **New Fabulous Kangaroos - with Denny Kass **New Rockers - with Marty Jannetty *'Managers' **Jim Cornette (WWF) (1996) **Skandor Akbor **Jerry Lawler **Jonathan Coachman * Wrestlers managed ** Maven ** The Tribunal * Theme music ** "Rock and Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter (ECW) ** "Purple Haze" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (ECW) ** "You're So Vain" by Faster Pussycat (SMW) ** "Orient Express (WWF; used as Shinobi) ** "Rock Out" by Jimmy Hart & J.J. McGuire (WWF; used as a member of The New Rockers) ** "Alice's Folly" by Steve Vaus (WWF; used as Leif Cassidy) ** "Breathe" by The Prodigy (ECW) ** "What Does Everybody Want" by Jim Johnston (WWF/E) ** "Snow-Man" by Jim Johnston (WWF) ** "Al Snow Theme" by Dale Oliver (TNA) * Wrestlers trained Championships and accomplishments *'Border City Wrestling' **BCW Can-Am Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Denny Kass *'Jersey All Pro Wrestling' **JAPW Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *'Midwest Territorial Wrestling' **MTW Heavyweight Champion (2 time) **MTW Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Ray Roberts *'Smokey Mountain Wrestling' **SMW Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Unabomb **SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *'USA Pro Wrestling' **USA Pro Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *'The Ultimate Wrestling Experience' **UWE United States Championship (1 time) *'World Wrestling Association' **WWA World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Mickey Doyle *'World Wrestling Federation' **WWF European Champion (1 time) **WWF Hardcore Champion (6 time) **WWF World Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Mankind See also *Al Snow's event history External links * Al Snow profile at CAGEMATCH.net * Profile pt:Al Snow Category:1963 births Category:1984 debuts Category:American wrestlers Category:Commentators Category:1 Pro Wrestling alumni Category:3XW Wrestling alumni Category:Absolute Intense Wrestling alumni Category:All Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Anti-Watershed Wrestling alumni Category:Australasian Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Ballpark Brawl alumni Category:Border City Wrestling alumni Category:Buckeye Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Century Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Championship Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Chikara Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Derby City Wrestling alumni Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Extreme Wrestling Federation alumni Category:F1RST Wrestling alumni Category:Fiend Wrestling Germany alumni Category:Garden State Pro Wrestling alumni Category:German Stampede Wrestling alumni Category:Great Lakes Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Heartland Wrestling Association alumni Category:Heavy On Wrestling alumni Category:Impact Zone Wrestling alumni Category:Independent Wrestling Revolution alumni Category:International Championship Wrestling alumni Category:International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom alumni Category:International Wrestling Cartel current roster Category:IWA East Coast alumni Category:IWA Mid-South current roster Category:Jersey All Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Jim Crockett Promotions alumni Category:Juggalo Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Main Event Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Midwest Territorial Wrestling alumni Category:Millenium Wrestling Federation current roster Category:National Wrestling Superstars alumni Category:New England Championship Wrestling alumni Category:New York Wrestling Connection alumni Category:Northeast Wrestling alumni Category:NWA Sabu alumni Category:NWA Shockwave alumni Category:NWA Wisconsin alumni Category:Ohio Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Ohio Valley Wrestling alumni Category:Powerhouse Wrestling alumni Category:Premiere Wrestling Showcase alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Ohio alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Ulster alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Xtreme alumni Category:Smoky Mountain Wrestling alumni Category:Squared Circle Wrestling alumni Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumni Category:Universal Championship Wrestling alumni Category:USA Pro Wrestling alumni Category:USA Xtreme Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:TNA Gut Check Category:WWE European Champions Category:WWE Hardcore Champions Category:Ohio wrestlers Category:All Action Wrestling (Australia) alumni Category:WWE World Tag Team Champions Category:Alternative Wrestling World alumni Category:Awesome Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Crossfire Wrestling alumni Category:Deutsche Wrestling Allianz alumni Category:DREAMWAVE Wrestling alumni Category:Dutch Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Elite Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Empire State Wrestling alumni Category:Extreme Rising alumni Category:Great Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Hardcore Roadtrip alumni Category:IWA Puerto Rico alumni Category:National Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:NWA Bluegrass alumni Category:NWA New Jersey alumni Category:Prairie Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Premiere Wrestling Xperience alumni Category:Preston City Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Blitz alumni Category:Qatar Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Ronin Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Showtime All-Star Wrestling alumni Category:Stampede Wrestling alumni Category:Strong Style Wrestling alumni Category:Target Wrestling alumni Category:Twin Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Ultimate Wrestling Experience alumni Category:United Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Warriors Of Wrestling alumni Category:Wisconsin Pro Wrestling alumni Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Class II: The Next Generation alumni Category:Wrestling And Respect alumni Category:Wrestling Supershow alumni Category:Xtreme Intense Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Living people Category:NRW Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Male wrestlers Category:Athletik Club Wrestling alumni Category:Big Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Central PA Wrestling alumni Category:German Wrestling Federation alumni Category:House Of Hardcore alumni Category:Outback Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling alumni Category:Primal Conflict Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Phoenix alumni Category:Swiss Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:WildKat Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Xtreme Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Professional wrestling trainers Category:Masters Of Ring Entertainment alumni Category:WWE Tough Enough coaches Category:Pro Pain Pro Wrestling alumni